Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore has suggested that the Reds will do well to get more than two years out of imminent new signing Mario Balotelli.

The Italian striker is set for a move to Anfield worth £16 million in a deal which has already been widely praised by various sections of the club’s support base.

However, Collymore has suggested that the only reason the deal is happening is because of Liverpool’s involvement in the Champions League this season.

Therefore, he suggests that a one-year loan deal would have been a better option for the club over a three or four-year contract which could be broken after a couple of seasons, resulting in Balotelli being moved on yet again.

Balotelli has so far failed to find a club where he can settle in his career as he’s been moved on from spells at Inter Milan, Manchester City and now AC Milan if his move to Liverpool goes through as expected.

If #LFC got him on a one year loan, woukd be perfect. 3 or 4 year contract, he'll do 2 max. Feel free to tweet this in 2016. @SportsYapper

Lewis Doe

Lewis Doe is a freelance writer and editor who seeks to bring you the biggest, smallest and most interesting stories from the football world. Lewis has previously written for some of the biggest football news and opinion sites in the world including FootballFanCast and Goal.com International. Lewis is also experienced writing in the betting industry and aims to deliver his stories with up to date factual and statistical information. He hopes to sum up stories for the site and provide an angle on the issue moving forward.Lewis is HITC Sport's La Liga correspondent.